1. Chemistry Studies God’s Illustrated Word
Chemistry is the study of matter
and the changes that matter can undergo.
Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space. Matter makes up the whole physical
universe.
We
Christians acknowledge that God’s Word comes in three forms: the Living Word
(which is Jesus), the Written Word (the Bible), and the Illustrated Word (all
nature and creation). It was the Living
Word who spoke and created all nature (Genesis 1 and John 1:1-4) and it was He
who sent the Holy Spirit to reveal to mankind His love and His truth through
the Written Word (John 16:13). Therefore
the science that investigates matter (from minute atoms to huge planets) and
the changes that matter undergoes (from the metabolism taking place inside the
cells to the nuclear reactions in gigantic stars) is not only mere chemistry
but a study of God’s Illustrated Word as well.
As pointed out earlier, the Creator of the Illustrated Word and the
Author of the Written Word is one and the same, thus the principles that run
through both Illustrated and Written Words will also be the same. If both the Illustrated and Written Words are
rightly studied, the experience should and would always point to their Creator
and Author, the Living Word, resulting in praise and honour to Him who is the
source of all these wonderful things.
I
believe that it is from this perspective that
Chemistry, and other natural science subjects, must be taught in Christian
schools. Ellen G. White wrote that “Science,
in order to be fully appreciated, must be viewed from a religious standpoint....
The attributes of God as seen in His created works can be appreciated only as
we have a knowledge of the Creator.”[1] In lectures and sermons, well-chosen illustrations
are very useful; they paint pictures that are worth a thousand words. But if lectures and sermons are all
illustrations, no matter how captivating their delivery, they have a tendency
to become confusing, sending messages that are unclear and devoid of any point
or purpose. Likewise, the investigation
of God’s Illustrated Word must be integrated with the study of His Written Word
in order for the experience to be meaningful and productive.
2. Chemistry
Concepts May Serve as God’s Object Lessons
If the Bible, God’s
Written Word, is the primary Book that reveals God’s truth and character, then
nature, which includes matter and all creation, may be considered as the second
Book that displays God’s creative wisdom and might. Science may serve as a source book for many
spiritual lessons. “Next to the Bible,
nature is to be our great lesson book”[2]
because “Nature and revelation alike testify of God’s love.”[3] I fully believe that Chemistry holds an
important and significant portion of that second great lesson book. In my years of experience of teaching
Chemistry, I discovered that many basic concepts of Chemistry have spiritual
implications. Many of these concepts
serve as excellent illustrations or analogies to the Biblical principles and
precepts. Others may be used as part of
the integrational themes or they may serve as motivation for spiritual
discourses. Jesus Christ, the Master Teacher, used parables as the
major element in His teaching techniques.
Ellen White wrote a volume of this method of Christ’s teachings in her
book Christ’s Object Lessons, from
which this essay’s title was based upon.
Mark gave us a quaint description of Christ’s main teaching or speaking
strategy when he wrote, “He did not say anything to them without using a
parable” (Mark 4:34[4]). What made this teaching technique so
effective? It is the tying of symbols or
objects to the truths that were being taught.
He used pearls and treasures when He preached about heaven; sheep and
goats when He taught Christian duties; the story of the prodigal son when He
told about His Father’s love. So every
time His hearers would come across those objects or similar situations they would
be reminded of what Jesus had taught and might even get some hands-on learning experience. What used to be just a common surrounding of
everyday life now has a richer meaning. Through
this technique, Jesus “was able to teach even when He was not physically
present.”[5] That
made His teaching style more effective.
Chemistry concepts may also be used as object lessons for learning
faith.
3. Chemistry
Classes May Serve as the “Out of Season” Seasons to “Be Ready”
I consider
engagements that are not related to religion courses or church and Sabbath
services as “out of season” seasons that a committed Christian should be
prepared for. Paul charged Timothy to
“preach the Word; be prepared in season
and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2, emphasis supplied). The apostle’s charge still applies to every
Christian today. We simply are tasked
and expected to preach (to proclaim) the Word (God’s truth) all the time. In our classes, we can do the preaching by
integrating object lessons in our
lectures and activities. If we are doing
this in a regular basis then the “out of season” will become “seasons” for
sowing precious seeds of truths in the hearts of our students.
Paul
also added, “be prepared.” This means
that we are not only to prepare our object lessons but ourselves as well so
that we can “correct, rebuke, and encourage—with great patience and faithful
instruction.” And this is the harder
part of “preaching.” Spiritual preparation
is the most important aspect in our “preaching” preparation. A
Christian teacher must have a saving relationship with Jesus for him to be an
effective witness for his or her students.
4. Integrational
Strategies Enhances Students’ Learning and Remembering.
Learning is the primary
goal of teaching. Learning here, of
course, means that the subject matter or the concepts taught are well
understood. But in order for the learned
concepts to be of great use for a learner, they must also be remembered well. One technique for remembering is through
association. If a learner can associate
the learned concepts to some previously-learned concepts or experiences or to
some familiar objects, he will be better able to assimilate and retrieve the
new concepts learned.[6]
Integrational approaches do just that.
It associates the topic or lesson that is being discussed to familiar
faith concepts. Integrational
strategies, if properly executed, may also liven up seemingly monotonous
discussions of some less interesting topics.
[1] White, Ellen G. 1947. Testimonies to Ministers and
Gospel Workers. Washington, D.C.: Review
and Herald Publishing Association. p. 196.
[2] White, Ellen G. 1954. Child Guidance. Nashville,
Tennessee: Southern Publishing Association. p. 45.
[3] White, Ellen G. 1977. Steps to
Christ. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association. p. 9.
[4] Unless otherwise indicated, Bible quotations are from
the New International Version, 1989. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan
Publishing House.
[5] Melbourne, Bertram L.
2003. Still teaching after two
millennia: What can we learn from the Master Teacher? The Journal of Adventist Education 65,
5: 5-9.
[6] Rittenbach, Gail Perry. How to liven lethal lectures. The Journal of
Adventist Education 68, 5: 42.
